24 FOCUS The Magazine January/February 2019 www.focus-info.org

When standing on the top of Box Hill, fivemiles from the M25 and the second high-est hill in Surrey, it is easy to see howGeorge Meredith was inspired to write hispoem e Lark Ascending. When sur-rounded by wildlife and green space itwould not have just been a skylark soaringupwards.

He described the down lands beautifullyin his novel Diana of the Crossways.“rough an old gravel-cutting a gatewayled to the turf of the down, spring turfbordered on a long line, clear as a race-course, by golden gorse covers, and left-

ward over the gorse the dark ridge of thefir and heath country ran companionablyto the south west, the valley between, withundulations of wood and meadow sunnedor shaded, clumps and mounds, promon-tories, away to the broad spaces of tillagebanked by wooded hills, and dimmer be-yond and farther, the faintest shadowinessof heights, as a veil to the illimitable. Yews,junipers, radiant beeches, and gleams ofservice-tree or the whitebeam, spotted thesemicircle of swelling green down blackand silver.”

When Meredith lived in the FlintCottage situated at the bottom of BurfordSpur, fellow writers such as JM Barrie andRobert Louis Stevenson were visitors. eslope opposite the cottage is named afterBarrie and is still known as Barrie’s Bank.

When Meredith died, Barrie wrote hisessay, e Greenwood Hat, Being a Memoirof James Anon 1885-1887 which was aboutMeredith and his image of him on the hill.

“He [Meredith] was royalty at its mostaugust to Anon [Barrie], whose very firstrailway journey on coming to London wasto Box Hill to gaze at the shrine. ere is agrassy bank, or there was (for I go there nomore), opposite the gate, and the littleroyal residence is only some twenty yardsaway. Even to Anon that day it seemedsmall but very royal. He sat on the grassybank and quivered. Presently he saw a faceat the window of a little sitting room hewas to be very familiar with in the here-after. He knew whose face it was. en thefigure stood in the doorway, an amazinghandsome man in grey clothes and a rednecktie. He came slowly down the path to-wards the gate. It was too awful for Anon.He ran away. Something I wrote made himask me to visit him, and after that I wasoften at Flint Cottage for stretches of timeuntil he died in 1909. I loved this manmore every time I saw him. e last time,when he was very frail, I said I thought hehad a better colour, and he replied with asmile, ‘Yes, a pretty green.’”

Meredith was not the only writer to findinspiration on the Surrey Hill. Who canforget Jane Austen’s famous picnic scene in

A walk through l i terary Box H i ll

“He rises and begins to round,He drops the silver chain of soundOf many links without a break,

In chirrup, whistle slur and shake.”George Meredith, The Lark Ascending

Geo

rge

Mer

edith

Juniper Hall

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Emma? It is the place where Emma lets hertongue run away with her, allowing wordsto tumble out of her mouth and roll acrossthe landscape. Could the hill inspire suchfreedom in such a regimented social situa-tion? Well yes, I believe that it can anddoes frequently. Saying what one thinks atBox Hill is a little-known past time for thelocals and visitors to the beauty spot.

Although Austen describes the hill as“not Switzerland” in winter when it snows,many locals describe seeing walkers climb-ing the Burford Spur as if ascending intothe Alps. To be fair, it is only a 5% gradi-ent for a 129m hill.

John Keats spent time on the hill whenfinishing the final touches of his poemEndymion. He mentioned his stay at whatis now called the Burford Bridge Hotel inletters written to his friend John HamiltonReynolds. “I like this place very much,” hesaid simply. One night he ventured out ofthe hotel to walk up the hill seeking “afterthe moon”.

One of my personal favourites is DanielDefoe’s writing in 1720. He described arendezvous on the hill in the summer. “…Of coaches and horsemen, with abundanceof gentlemen and ladies from Epsome totake the air, and walk in the box woods:and in a word, divert, or debauch, or per-haps both, as they thought fit, and thegame increased so much, that it began al-most on a sudden, to make a great noise in

the country.” e thought of Epsom resi-dents running amok on the hill is such alovely image for someone like me who wasborn there.

During the French Revolution, JuniperHall, situated at the bottom of the hill inMickleham, became the home of a groupof French emigres escaping the chaos andviolence of the overthrow of the Frenchmonarchy. e hill became home to AnneLouise Germaine de Staël. Her works,both her novels and travel literature, withemphasis on passion, individuality and op-positional politics made their mark onEuropean Romanticism.

General Alexandre D’Arblay also foundsanctuary at the hall and it was here thathe met Fanny Burney the 18th centurynovelist, whom he later married. Burneywrote satirical novels such as Evelina,Cecilia and Camilla. It is possible thatAusten met Fanny here. Austen took thetitle of her best-known novel Pride andPrejudice from the last paragraph of

Camilla. In her diaries Austen mentioned:“We are about a mile and a half fromNorbury Park and two miles fromMickleham. I am become already so stouta walker, by use and with the help of a veryable supporter, that I go to those placesand return home on foot without fatigue,when the weather is kind.”

Mystery author Cyril Hare set his 1954novel at Yew Tree's Shade (published inthe U.S. as Death Walks the Woods) at alocal beauty spot called “Yew Hill”, whichHare acknowledges in the introduction isbased on Box Hill.

Today Box Hill is still a place for picnics,and I will leave it to the mistress of satireJane Austen to finish our journey throughBox Hill: “ey had a very fine day forBox Hill… Nothing was wanting but to behappy when they got there. Seven mileswere travelled in expectation of enjoyment,and everybody had a burst of admirationon first arriving…”

© The National Trust

George Lambert ‘Box Hill’

Burford Bridge Hotel

“George was not the only writer to find inspiration on the Surrey Hill. Who can forget

Jane Austen’s famous picnic scene in Emma?”

26 FOCUS The Magazine January/February 2019 www.focus-info.org

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Getting to Box HillBox Hill is approximately a one-hour drive from CentralLondon. Enjoy beautiful scenery with high hills and superbwalking trails for the whole family. Box Hill is part of theNational Trust which means National Trust members can parkfor free. Guided walks of the area are available. ere’s a café onsite to unwind in after a long walk. Bring your dog, they’rewelcome too.

DrivingTake the A3 south and follow the signs for Leatherhead. eNational Trust car park is at Tadworth.

Public transportTrains leave from Waterloo station to Surbiton or Victoriastation to Dorking. From either station you’ll need to take ashort bus ride followed by a short walk to Box Hill.www.nationaltrust.org.uk/box-hill

Burford Bridge HotelAt the Foot of Box Hill, RH5 6BXTelephone 0207 660 0684

Juniper Hall, Mickleham, Juniper HallOld London Rd, DorkingSurrey RH5 6DA (use RH5 6BZ for Satnavs).www.field-studies-council.org